Extreme Home Makeover - Trailer House Edition, Part I

Only the most fortunate of men waltz through life without a honeydo list. I'm not one of them.

For years, I made my weekly trek to Mecca - Home Depot or Lowe's on Saturday morning (right after Starbucks) was the norm, not the exception. And I'd drop $100 or $200 without batting an eye. Well, no more.

We hadn't been in our (trailer) house a week - a few boxes still unpacked, towels stacked on the bathroom counter - you know the drill. Magically, a fresh honeydo list appeared on my desk. Item No 1. Dishwasher.

God forbid that my wife should wash dishes - after all, its 2009! Off to Home Depot? NO - Say it ain't so! Craigslist is the game for me. I found a barely-used, top o' the line Kenmore dishwasher for $100. After a quick inspection I discovered it came out of a white collar office space. Bam! $100 bucks later, and I'm on my way home with a (sort of) new dishwasher for the lucky wife!

(PS - I did stop by Home Depot and pick up a new Insinkerator - to surprise Jan ).

To save money on honeydo lists, you've got to be a bit creative and a bit constructive.

TASK #1: Remove one set of cupboards and adjust side boards. Cost: ZERO.

TASK #2: Hook up new plumbing and In-sink-erator. Cost: $27 + 79 = $96

TASK #3: Hook up wiring. Here's where it gets tricky. I'm pretty handy, but frankly, electricity scares the crap out of me, ever since I plugged in the Christmas tree when I was 9, and my index finger was caught between the two prongs on the plugin - the shock of my life :-). The gal in Electrical at Home Depot was great - but her electrical drawing sucked - it was wrong. I went back three times, then finally drew my own after doing some serious research on the Internet. I happened to return to Home Depot when she was on duty, and she said, "Boy, am I glad to see you!" Turns out, her husband is an electrical contractor, and she got him to draw up a diagram - which agreed with mine perfectly. No shocks this time! Cost: $54

I spent 2 days, $252 installing my new dishwasher and IN-Sink-Erator. I saved about $400 in labor by doing this myself.

Watching my wife load the dishwasher, then plop down beside me to watch Extreme Home Edition while the dishwasher did its thing: PRICELESS.

MasterCard and Visa - Who needs 'em?